1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the collection of bales whereby to form a group of bales.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For collecting straw bales, there has been proposed a device which comprises a downwardly sloping collecting ramp linked to a straw press and a plurality of partitions, the latter defining, together with outer walls, a number of juxtaposed collecting compartments which number is equal to the number of bale rows in a group to be formed, the lengths of these compartments corresponding to the number of bales in the rows to be formed. A number of diverters are movable between two limit positions, the free extremities of these diverters being situated either at one or other side of the outlet duct of the straw press, extensions of these diverters being arranged beyond the pivot point in question so that a straw bale passing such an extension will cause the corresponding diverter to be shifted towards the other limit position. In particular such a device is provided with a hinged tail gate which is adapted to be retained in the closed position by means of reset means, and is locked in this position by a catch, which gate is opened on releasing this catch, under the weight of the bales, so that these bales are deposited on the ground in the grouping thus obtained.
In this previously proposed device, if the speed of the bales along the ramp is insufficiently high in relation to the supply speed from the straw press, it may occur that, after supplying two bales to a compartment, a third bale will arrive at the diverter in question before the diverter has been moved by the preceding bale, which will cause an obstruction at the entry of the device with the result that the device will become inoperative.